Powered by Matchi, BankTech Asia is scanning the globe for 5 leading fintech solutions to showcase to an audience of 200+ bankers from Asia at their 9th annual event in Kuala Lumpur from 5-6 July 2017 with the aim of fostering more fintech partnerships between the incumbents and the disruptors. The organizers of the international conference highlighted that Sri Lanka is amongst the countries they intend to receive applications from.In tandem with the direction of regulators from Asia, BankTech Asia aims to use this challenge to introduce innovative world class fintech solutions to banks from around the region. Preparations for the BankTech Asia’s Fin5ive challenge kicked off with a fintech survey to 70 participating financial institutions from the Asia Pacific region to identify solutions that were the most strategically important for their bank.Survey responses were collated to determine key focus areas which now form the five (5) entry categories for the challenge. To enter, fintech firms must have an approved solution on the Matchi portal that is aligned with any one of below five (5) categories:

Emphasising the synergy of this collaboration, the organiser said “The partnership with Matchi is very strategic for both parties with our reach to over 4000 bankers from around Asia and Matchi’s global reach to over 3000 fintech firms,” Vincent Fong, General Manager of Knowledge Group.

He then added “Having just returned from the BankTech Asia Sri Lanka Conference in March, we feel that there’s a lot high potential fintech firms in Sri Lanka, we believe that this platform would be a great entry point for Sri Lanka Companies to enter the South East Asian Market.”

The organisers stressed that the quality and relevance of the solution is of paramount importance. In an effort to ensure both those criteria are met, BankTech Asia and Matchi worked closely together to identify a set of industry experts with diverse background from across the region as the panel of judges. Among the panel of esteemed judges are:

Amran Hassan, Head of Innovation, Maybank, Malaysia

Paul Ark, CEO, Digital Ventures, Thailand

Paolo Baltao, Senior Vice President, Union Bank, Philippines

Markus Gnirck, Founder, tryb Capital, Singapore

David Milligan, CEO, Matchi, South Africa

The BankTech Asia Fin5ive challenge opened for entry on Wednesday, 17 May 2017 and close on Wednesday, 31 May 2017 at 23:59 GMT. All entries will be validated and a shortlist will be individually scored against a set of criteria by an esteemed panel of judges.

The Fin5ive winners will be announced on Friday, 9 June 2017. Each of the winning fintech solution providers will have the opportunity to demonstrate their solution live on stage at the BankTech Asia event in Kuala Lumpur from 5-6 July 2017. They will also be given a free exhibition space and one-to-one networking opportunities at the FinMatch event.

MatchiMatchi is a global fintech innovation match-making firm, since 2013. Matchi has worked with over 100 leading banks and insurance companies (FIs) around the world, and has a database of over 2,500 fintech firms with 700+ curated solutions. Matchi provides both a searchable, highly-detailed portal of fintech solutions, as well as bespoke projects for FI clients to source targeted fintech solutions aimed at the FIs focus areas / pain points. The global Matchi team has run Fintech Challenges and Market Scans for multiple FIs around the world, in markets as diverse as Africa, Japan, Canada, Mauritius and India, as well as searches in more recognized fintech regions.BankTech AsiaBankTech Asia is one the longest running fintech and banking technology events in the Asia region. With a 9-year track record in keeping bankers and fintech professionals abreast with the latest trends and threats, BankTech Asia has been hosted in several countries including Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.